New York City Will Be Hailing Hybrids by 2012

New York City Mayor Bloomberg announced this morning on NBC's Today Show that all New York City taxis must go green by the year 2012.

The advantages of the hybrid taxis will be big gas savings for drivers and much cleaner emissions for New York City's already strained environment than traditional gasoline-powered taxicabs. Current taxis get about 12 MPG. The hybrids are expected to get double the MPG's. Hybrids perform best when idling or stuck in traffic which is a good part of New York City driving. They also have cheaper air conditioning costs and their brakes last twice as long.

According to NY1 News, some disadvantages of the new hybrids are: a confining partition between the passenger and driver, lack of leg room, and trouble stepping into the vehicle as most hybrids are SUV style vehicles.

The city currently has about 13,000 cabs in operation. The majority are Crown Victoria's and 375 are Ford Escape hybrids. Mayor Bloomberg wants to increase the amount of hybrids to every cab in the City by 2012

Since 1907, only gasoline-powered yellow taxis have prowled the city streets. Now, thanks to Mayor Bloomberg and the "Clean Air Taxis Act" all yellow cabs will be green.

According to the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, New York taxis each average about 100,000 miles of driving yearly. So, the fuel savings for drivers and operators could amount to thousands of dollars every year.

These hybrid taxis will lessen America's dependence on foreign oil. New York City has always been a trendsetter for our country and now, with these hybrid taxis, it is leading the way toward our energy independence.

Mayor Bloomberg called his hybrid taxi plan a "win-win situation."

SOURCE: http://www.ny1.com

source: http://media.ford.com/newsroom/release_display.cfm?release=21992